Part one: News 10's interview with Greg Gibson, the man behind Vigo County's casino project

Part one: News 10's interview with Greg Gibson, the man behind Vigo County's casino project

In may..

The indiana gaming commission unanimously appproved a 120 million dollar casino project.

It's expected to bring 1-thousand new jobs and 5 point 3 million dollars in annual gaming tax revenue for the community of vigo county.

The man behind this project is greg gibson, chairman of spectacle jack l-l-c.

News 10's mike latta sat down with gibson one on one, to talk about the casino, as well as the growth of the i-70 corridor, and what he see's for the future development of the east side of terre haute.

You know when i aquired that property it was cornfields basically, but i always felt like that had to be the next area for terre haute to grow.

The opening of the casino i think will be something special, you know i think this project...and i thought this way about the hilton garden inn.

It's going to be the type of project that terre haute is not use to.

And i want it to be nicer than what people expect, i want it to be a great facility.

And uh you know i think it helps build our attitude that terre haute is a great place.

With our partnership with hard rock, probably the most well known and most sucessful name in the gaming industry right now, that will really help us.

Uh we are in a great location right on the interstate so there is a lot of traffic, going by the site every day and i think we will draw a lot of people from eastern illinois, we are very close to the indianapolis market and it grown a lot towards terre haute, plainfield has exploded, and so i have always thought it makes sense for terre haute and vigo county to focus on that area for it's development.

Now i think the casino being right in the middlke of that developing area is just going to draw more action and more development and you know, who knows, maybe we can get another interchange on i -70.

It's estimated it will be 1.1 million visitors to vogo county and terre haute, m and what that is going to do for the hotels, the restaurants to stimulate new growth, terre haute is becoming a tourism destination, it's many things that's causing that but i think the casino is really going to put that oevr the top.

The community came together to help with that project more than any other thing i have been involved in, and it makes me feel like we are getting overn a hump, that the community is starting to work together, uh....we are all rowing the boat in the same direction., and that's the way it felt on the casino project.

I was amazed at the different groups and factions that came out to support that project, spent time over there with the legislature, and it really...it really excited me and it excites me for the future.

I want to look to the sky for big things in our development out there.

The east side casino project is not the only development greg gibson has been involved in, in part two of this sprecial report we'll share gibson's vision for terre haute, the downtown area, and the new convention center.